Bad Things | Good People
I’m often asked why bad things happen to good people.
Tornados have devastated much of my home town again. I have friends displaced by the tragedy and some whose lives will never be the same.
Entries by Chad Balthrop
Don’t Be Better – Be Remarkable
It’s not enough for the church to be ‘different’ from others. It’s not enough for our lives as Believers to be marginally better than the lives of non-Believers.
Senate Chaplain of the Week
It was a privilege to serve as Chaplain of the Week for the Oklahoma State Senate. Thanks to Senator Rick Brinkley for the invitation and your incredible hospitality. I’m proud to call you my Senator, more than that, my friend.
Follow Me: FLIPPED, Upside-Down Living
Most of us get it backwards. We think the key to the life we’ve always wanted is to believe the right things and behave the right way. Just take a look at social media. Facebook Philosophers regularly post one-liners, pics and quotes intended to inspire, challenge, convict and guilt people into changing what they believe and how they behave. We see this in politics as well. We pass laws based on our beliefs designed to manage someone’s behavior with words on a page.
Twisted – Tragedy in Boston, Oklahoma and Beyond
Have you ever watched a child on a swing? Not when they use the swing as it was designed, but when they sit on the swing and twist it in circles. It can be fun. The ropes that hold up the swing become more and more twisted until the child simply isn’t strong enough to twist it anymore. In a rush the potential energy is released! The child spins out of control screaming cheerfully as the world whirls by in a blur of color and wind.
Teachers | The Secret Sauce
Teachers are the secret sauce. They are the difference between ignorant and informed, wise and foolish, skilled and unskilled. Their responsibility is great. The honor they deserve greater.
Temptation: The Appetites that Define Our Choices
I like chocolate. Ice cream is my dessert of choice. Me and cookies and milk, we get along. I have an appetite for these things. I find them tempting. When I’m the least bit hungry, even when I’m not hungry at all, if they are nearby, I find myself struggling to make a decision. To eat or not to eat.
Passion Week: Celebrate the Cruelty
This week my church has hosted and event called the Passion Week Experience. It’s a fresh look at an ancient practice. People have the opportunity to experience eight stations of the cross and interact with the elements and events that led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The experience is deeply personal, emotional and meaningful.
What the Pain Says
I don’t like pain. Who does? It hurts. It’s inconvenient. Pain puts in me in a bad mood. It slows me down. Pain changes the way I interact with others. It causes me to focus on myself rather than see the needs of the people around me. People in pain don’t react the same as healthy people.
The Lies We Tell Ourselves
I don’t like to be told I’m wrong. I try hard to make good choices and do the right thing. There are times I stumble into sin. Other times I pursue sin with a passion. It’s comforting to know that either way I’m forgiven. And then I read 1 John 2:4-6, “If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”